London Mayor Sadiq Khan is being accused by Israel’s ambassador and embassy in the UK of spreading “Hamas propaganda” in his message for Ramadan, according to a statement released Thursday.
In a video posted this week, Khan said that “more than 50,000 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza as a result of Israel’s ongoing military campaign, including more than 15,000 children.” His figures appear to come from casualty reports issued by the Gaza health ministry, which is under Hamas control and whose numbers have been questioned.
Earlier this week, Hamas itself revealed updated information that contradicts earlier reports. According to the nonprofit Honest Reporting, which shared its analysis with The Telegraph, roughly 60% of those killed in the conflict have been adult males of combat age. Hamas’s official statistics do not separate fighters from civilians.
“These betrayals of humanity should weigh heavily on our collective conscience. But I’m proud that, while the international community has chosen to avert its gaze, Londoners have not,” the mayor said in his message.
The Israeli ambassador to the UK, Tzipi Hotovely, responded harshly to the remarks on social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter, saying: “I was extremely disturbed listening to @SadiqKhan’s remarks in a video he released at the start of Eid celebrations. His comments on the casualties from the ongoing war in Israel as ‘betrayals of humanity’ seem a shocking misrepresentation.
“His further comments that ‘the international community has chosen to avert its gaze’ were also absurd. If that were the case, then perhaps it should look towards Hamas and the atrocities they have committed.”
In a statement to The Times, the Israeli embassy reinforced that the war was triggered by Hamas’s violent assault on Israel on October 7, 2023. “The war is a result of the brutal and horrific attack by Hamas, a proscribed terror organization in the UK, which was imposed on Israel on October 7, 2023,” the embassy said.
The statement also expressed concern over Khan’s failure to mention the terror group or its actions. “It is alarming that throughout the message, there is no mention of Hamas or any condemnation of terrorism and a call for the release of 59 hostages that are being held in horrific and inhumane conditions.”
The embassy further criticized Khan for overlooking Hamas’s violent treatment of Palestinians and pointed out that the group murdered people of multiple faiths on October 7. “Hamas terrorists murdered people of all faiths and none, with impunity,” the embassy said, adding that over 20 Muslim Israelis were killed and six others kidnapped during the attack.
“The values that Mr Khan speaks of must not be applied selectively,” an embassy spokesman added.
Responding to the controversy, a spokesperson for the mayor said, “The mayor has repeatedly conveyed his outrage at attacks by Hamas on Israel and has strongly condemned these acts of terrorism. He is deeply saddened by the loss of all lives and continues to support calls for a permanent ceasefire.”
This is not the first time Khan has faced backlash over his public comments about the Gaza conflict. He previously apologized to UK Chief Rabbi Sir Ephraim Mirvis after suggesting that the rabbi’s criticism of calls for a ceasefire was Islamophobic.
{Matzav.com}